Alright, I’ve been working on a book for almost a year now.
I’ve printed it out, edited it, re-printed, edited again.
I’ve added and subtracted and I’m adding once again.
I haven’t talked about it much because I hate talking about it.
How many people do you know who are ‘working on a book?’
They’ve likely been at it – or a version of it – for years. The Resistance, as Steven Pressfield coined it, holds them (and me) back from doing the thing they need to do most.
Here are a few lessons I’ve learned from writing the thing, and where I am now with it.
1. Put your money where your mouth is.
So I’ve been doing this with a few things.
One other one’s a biggie…
We’re starting the Average to Alpha Supplement Brand – I’ll tell you more about it soon, but it’s starting with a real T-booster. That is, not filled with nonsense, but vitamins and minerals that will help guys boost T, lower estrogen and cortisol – which is all a T booster should do – while filling gaps in nutrition that we just don’t fill with our normal diets.
For that and the book, I’m forking over big dough before everything is done, kind of as a commitment to the project.
Too often we wait until it’s completely finished before making the investment.
Trust in yourself. Make the investment first, then chase and make the best book, business, magazine, or supplement or whatever you’re making.
2. Bring someone on board.
Don’t just tackle the project on your own.
That isn’t to say hire someone to do it for you, but hire a coach, an editor, both, someone to do what you’re not great at doing, and to give a different perspective.
I’ve done both.
Forking over the dough hurts, but that pain isn’t regret, I control whether I’ll regret it or not because it’s on me, that pain is improvement, forced improvement. (Read This: The Greatest Fear A Man Can Have)
Lastly…
And tied to that point.
3. If you’re not uncomfortable, you’re not doing it right.
Life needs to be uncomfortable, every day.
I’m seeing the value in this daily, and if I get too comfortable, I’ll head out for a run or on the mountain bike to feel a bit of pain in a society where pain isn’t as frequent as it once was.
If you’re not uncomfortable, you’re not doing it right.
Do what scares you most.
Do it in a way that’s challenging.
Set a goal then make it bigger.
Don’t just do this on a life scale, but on a per-project, even a per day basis.
No matter what your career is, do it better than anyone else, that’s the challenge we all face as men.
Every day we’re trying to improve.
Excellence in all things is what the Romans saw manliness as.
They sent their boys into schools of battle, made them wear rags to teach them toughness and humility, made them run the streets to learn how to be cunning and wise.
Life isn’t supposed to be easy. Not if you want to live a life worth leading.
Dare mightily.
